What foods did you wife miss most?

[Jet]

But that would require plastic dolphins, and that would be tacky.   

Kuna could add bronze dolphins like Wayne Huizenga recently did on two of his three Fort Lauderdale waterfront properties - wait, nevermind, that was tacky too 

What ever you plan Kuna, I'm sure it will be wonderful. As long as you and the bride are in attendance the important part is covered 

[LEGAL]

Kuna maybe you should do this on the cruise ship with all of us?

LEGAL

[jb]

Regarding smoked fish, which as most of you now know, is a staple in the Russian diet, assuming you live in a house with a back yard, best advice is to do it yourself.  I reckon apartment dwellers would have some trouble with this.

I got tired of trying to find a locally produced substitute and bought my own smoker.  I'm lucky that I live in a section of Texas where mesquite wood is plentiful and I have access to all I want, but hickory, apple, or pecan woods also make a decent fire for smoking fish.  Our favorite is Alaskan salmon, nice sized fillets are available at the supermarket.   I've also had good luck with trout and any fresh caught fish except catfish, (it turns to mush and becomes inedible).  A good sized sheet metal smoker can be had for under $100.00 and you can produce a weeks worth of smoked fish in about 5 hours once you get the knack of it.

It's also a good excuse to ice down a few pivas.

[I/O]

Has Ms D seen photos of Kolas?  When she does, you will be required to add one of those.  If you do, just make sure he has had his daily ration of eucalyptus (or whatever they eat).  A friend was filming a commercial with one, and the poor thing had not been fed.  He became very irritable, even scared the piss out of couple of actors. 

Gator: Well fed or not, our so called cuddly little Koalas are not quite a cuddly as everyone thinks.  They often stink, have long front teeth a bit like a large rabbit, claws about 1'1/4 inches long and are well capable of using all 3 to their own advantage as the mood takes them.  They can be completely grumpy little sh_ts.

JB: Right on, if you want decent smoked anything, fish included, doing your own is hard to beat.  Ah the Deutz is coming out in me now.

I/O

Below, smoking fish on a grand scale at Baikal.

[Kuna]

I had dinner tonight with my best friend and his Ukrainian wife.  They've been married for 12 years and they were saying that they found it impossible to find good smoked fish so they too smoke their own.  They live  up north now in a decent sized city on the Great Barrier Reef and have a plentiful supply of reef fish.  His wife still says though that nothing compares to the fish at home.

By the way... many wonderful observations and comments from both of them over dinner.  I'll try to post some of the conversation tomorrow from a couple with 12 years under their belt.

Kuna

[Jumper]

Kuna-
Here there are a lot of russians and ukranians in Chicago..
one area is known as the ukranian village part of the city.
lots of groceries , restruants etc,.
she's a great cook so as long as the grocery had the items she was familar with,,no need to miss anything for long..?
just a good situation in this local i guess...

now she would miss and get a taste for some dish or another i
initially, but her tastes have changed to really be into italian and mexican anymore,,
so that wore off quickly anyway..
but we do regularly have borsct and many traditional Russian dishes at home for sure !!

mmmm =)

plus i'm not great, but a decent cook and can make a few of her fav dishes, both russki and some from here

[El Rock]

Would you PLEASE do something about that moving avatar , it is very distracting  , as I   in a  pleasant voice , only if you could hear

I had dinner tonight with my best friend and his Ukrainian wife.  They've been married for 12 years and they were saying that they found it impossible to find good smoked fish so they too smoke their own.  They live  up north now in a decent sized city on the Great Barrier Reef and have a plentiful supply of reef fish.  His wife still says though that nothing compares to the fish at home.

By the way... many wonderful observations and comments from both of them over dinner.  I'll try to post some of the conversation tomorrow from a couple with 12 years under their belt.

Kuna

[Kuna]

El Rock,

Ya know what... I was thinking earlier today about changing it but now I know you're so fond of it I think I'll keep it a little longer...

A member here found it and suggested it... I wonder if they're tiring of it too!

By the way.. I like your Avatar too...  You look gay!   

Kuna

[El Rock]

Yes , I am gay ,, 99% of the time ,  all my clients  love me  because I make them smile , it's contagious  , ya know ?

El Rock,

Ya know what... I was thinking earlier today about changing it but now I know you're so fond of it I think I'll keep it a little longer...

A member here found it and suggested it... I wonder if they're tiring of it too!

By the way.. I like your Avatar too...  You look gay!   

Kuna

[catzenmouse]

AJ,

 Would you mind telling me (either here or in PM) about this Russian/Ukrainian section in Chicago. It would make a good day trip for us along with visiting some of the waterfront area.

Thanks much!
 Ken

Kuna-
Here there are a lot of russians and ukranians in Chicago..
one area is known as the ukranian village part of the city.
lots of groceries , restruants etc,.
she's a great cook so as long as the grocery had the items she was familar with,,no need to miss anything for long..?
just a good situation in this local i guess...

now she would miss and get a taste for some dish or another i
initially, but her tastes have changed to really be into italian and mexican anymore,,
so that wore off quickly anyway..
but we do regularly have borsct and many traditional Russian dishes at home for sure !!

mmmm =)

plus i'm not great, but a decent cook and can make a few of her fav dishes, both russki and some from here

[Jumper]

Ken, like New Yorks brighton beach,
it isnt a spiffy neighborhood to visit?
 but does have its cool vibe and culture.
Its a pretty decent sized area on the west /north west side
 not too far from downtown..but not really close either if you follow me..
As far as eastern european influence in this city and suburbs..
there are a few million polish,(it's often said that,seriuuosly,  more than in warsaw) then add in liuthuanian, serbian, croation , ukrainian, Russian..etc
  and its big part of this area.. in the many districts you will see a lot of orthodox churches etc and its very routine to hear polish and russian spoken  by people on the street next to you in line at a store or whatever..   we randomly meet russian speaking people pretty much all the time.. at the gym , store clerks , that type of situation ....
there was a story on the radio this morning of a lost luthuinian lady in her 70's that has lived here about ten years and knows very little english..
they found her simply visiting friends in the city.. but shows how well she can get by in her native tongue (or russian) here!
she wasnt lost at all and had navigated the trains quite well of course..!!
ts just her neighbors just dint know where she went LOL

anyway youll love the waterfront,navy pier,  and that whole area,,lots to do and see ,,
When are you headed to Chicago?

(sorry for the off topic, kuna)

[catzenmouse]

  Apologies to Kuna.

 AJ,

 We don't have any specific plans as it will probably be one of those things that happens when we reallize that both our schedules are clear for a weekend and we can run down for the day and check it out. We've only been to the airport there so far (Midway? is that right) and will be going again for sure in June to O'Hare when Elena and Sergei go home to visit (I don't get to go this year as someone needs to stay home and keep the fridge stocked with beer and steaks...) so we really don't know where anything is. If you know a couple of the street names I can map it to give us an idea.

Ken

[jb]

Somewhere upthread I mentioned smoking fish in the back yard,,, well here's how I do it.

[Kuna]

JB,

Once "you know who" gets here I might be asking you for smoking tips...  I've had a look around a few shops and haven't seen the fish we had together in Ukraine so I guess I'll have to learn how to smoke them.  ???

Kuna

[ScottinCrimea]

Be sure to ask the little lady if she refers filtered or non filtered

[AnastassiaAsh]

Well, i am missing our Russian bread that is kind of possible to find here still, but cottage cheese IMPOSSIBLE and other dairy like ryazhenka and prostokvasha may not even exist.
There is no Russian store where i live unfortunately, have to drive to Pittsburgh for 1 hour to get there, this is what we do once a month or so. I also miss Russian chocolates and pirozhenoye kartoshka, the closest i can describe it for you is something like a dense chocolate brownie with chocolate sprinkles on top. MMMmm 
 

[Kuna]

Be sure to ask the little lady if she refers filtered or non filtered

Filtered???  or filleted?

The fish we had was whole, cut through the spine at a little more than 1" apart and the skin had to be peeled off...

[Simoni]

I thought my wife was Marcos 2. It's shoes before anything else. Didn't realize there was every spectrum of color. For me it's black, brown, and white sport shoes( I mean tennis shoes) . I've already been shown the bright patent leather heels for this spring and summer.  Gotta say I like watching those heels comin and goin.

I'm with you, Start2!  The hell with the food, she's fine there....it's the shoes of American she is craving and acquiring!  Going to have to move out of my closet to make room for her stuff! LOL

Oh, and she discovered the Fredrick's link at RWD, and ordered some extremely sexy stuff    No compaints from me 

[rose]

Well, i am missing our Russian bread that is kind of possible to find here still, but cottage cheese IMPOSSIBLE and other dairy like ryazhenka and prostokvasha may not even exist.
There is no Russian store where i live unfortunately, have to drive to Pittsburgh for 1 hour to get there, this is what we do once a month or so. I also miss Russian chocolates and pirozhenoye kartoshka, the closest i can describe it for you is something like a dense chocolate brownie with chocolate sprinkles on top. MMMmm 

Have you tried buttermilk? I think it's as close as possible. Try also "Ricotta" cheese, you might like it. There are several Russian sites where you can buy food online. If you want I can look for their e-mails if I still have those.

[Muj]

Well, i am missing our Russian bread that is kind of possible to find here still, but cottage cheese IMPOSSIBLE and other dairy like ryazhenka and prostokvasha may not even exist.
There is no Russian store where i live unfortunately, have to drive to Pittsburgh for 1 hour to get there, this is what we do once a month or so. I also miss Russian chocolates and pirozhenoye kartoshka, the closest i can describe it for you is something like a dense chocolate brownie with chocolate sprinkles on top. MMMmm 
 

We live near a Russian store and buy bread there.  But my wife still misses her UA bread.  Has anyone tried a home breadmaker?  What is the recipe?

[SANDRO43]

Try also "Ricotta" cheese

Actually, ricotta cheese is something of a misnomer, since ricotta is obtained from whey, i.e. what's left after cheese has been made from milk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricotta_cheese) . As a consequence, it contains much less fatty substances.

[rose]

Actually, ricotta cheese is something of a misnomer, since ricotta is obtained from whey, i.e. what's left after cheese has been made from milk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricotta_cheese) . As a consequence, it contains much less fatty substances.

Well, I like Ricotta just because it reminds me Russian milk cheese, and if it made from whey, so be it.